Railroad-tie.



J. W. BILLER.

RAILROAD TIE.

APPLLGMIQN FILED Nov.15,1so7.

meme@ @en 20 1908.

tot u Mg.

JACGB W. BILLER, OF SUMMIT POINT, WEST VIRGINIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oct. 2o, 190s.,

Application filed November 15, 1907. Serial No. 402,335).

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, JACOB W. BILLER, a

' citizen of the United States of America, -residing at Summit Point, inthe county of Jefferson and State of lVest'Virginia, have invented newand useful Improvements in Railroad-Ties, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to railroadl ties, and it has for its object toprovide a metallic railroad tie of simple and improved constructionwhich shall be thoroughly eiiieient for the purpose of retaining` therails supported thereon and in proper position without danger ofdisplacement. I

A further object of the invention is to pro vide a construction wherebythe rails will be supported in such a manner as to positively avoid thepossibility of the heads of the spikes or securing members being shorntitl" bythe tendencyof the rails to lateral move nient in an outwarddirection; a still further object of the invention is to provideiinnovcd fastening means for securing the rails in position in such amanner that they may be readily `removed and replaced, when required; astill further object of the invention is to' provide an improved'bracing device adapted to be used in places where the rails are subjectto special stress or strain in van outward direction, as upon short orsharp' curves.

Further obiects of the invention are to .sin'iplify and improve theconstruction and operation of this class of devices.

with these and other ends in view, which will readily appear as t henature ofthe invern tion is betterunderstood, thesameconsists in theimproved const ruetion and novel arrangeincnt and combination of partswhich will bo hereinafter,fully described and particularly pointed outin the claims.

ln the accompanying drawing has been illustrated a simple and preferredforni ofthe invention, it boing', however, understood that no limitationis necessarily made to the ircciso structural details therein exhibited,but that changes, alterations and nLodiii-alions within. the scopo ofthe invention may be resorted to when desired.

ln the drawing,Y ltigurol is a longitudinal vor! ical sectional view ofa metallicI railroad tio eo istrui'tcd in laccordance wil h tho inveution, and showing also tho rails supported thereon. Fig. 2 is a top planview of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on theplane indicated by the line 3'-3 detail view taken through one end ofthe tie and illustrating the brace used in connection with theinvention. Fig. is a pers eetive Fig. 4 is a'longitudinal sectionaldetail view showing the brace mem er de- Y' taclied.

Corresponding arts in the several figures are denoted by lillecharacters of reference. The improved metallic railroad tie in itspreferred form consists' of a casting compris-v ing a base plate l,which is preferably of a length approximately egual to that of the crossties ordinarily enip eyed;A said base being provided adjacent to theends thereof with upwardly extending approximately rectangular sleeves2, 2 of suitable dimensions. The base 1 may be provided with o enings orapertures 3 for the purpose of re ucing the Weight and lessening theexpense of material. The sleeves 2, 2, upon which the rails 4 aresupported, are provided in their upper sides with traiisvcrse recesses 5constituting seats in which the bottom flanges of the rails are fittedand supported. The rails will thus be` held in perfect alinement withabsolute certainty, and lateral displacement of the rails, andconsequent danger of injury to the fastening members whereby the railsare held in position will be positively prcvenited.l

l`he`slecves 2 are pro-vided adjacent to the rail seats 5 with slots orapertures 6 for the passage of the fastening members,l which latterinclude the holders 7 and the keys or wedges lil, having narrowedterminals 8. 'lhc holders 7 are provided at their upper ends with `headstl adapted to engage the foot langeof the rail; said holders are alsoprovided ncar their upper ends with laterally extending lugs lt) adaptedto catch beneath thc upper portions ofthe sleeves, thus serving to bindthe rails securely in position. 'l`he lower oxtrmnitics of the'shanks ofthe holders are extended through slots or aper-l tures l2 formed in thcbasc'platc l. in registry with tho slots (i.

l`ho slots or aperturi'is arc sufficiently largo for the passage notonly of the holders 7, but also ol' thc fastening members lil which arodriven adjacent to the holders; said fasteningmembers consisting ofsplit keys or wedges, which, after being driven, are operated upon by'moans of cold chisols or other suitable tools, whereby the limbs of saidwedges are spread or forced a art, as will be clearly seen in Fig. 3 oithe rawing, so as to make it impossible for said fastening members to beaccidentally displaced or lost. lt will be readily seen that the lowerextremities oi the fastening members 13 are readily accessible thri'iughthe open ends of the sleeves 2,'thus enabling said fastening 'members tobe very readily operated upon for the purpose of securing them inposition or for the purpose of detaehing, when desired.

lt will be readily seen that by means of the wedge-shaped fasteningmembers 13 the holders 7 are held very securely and intimately withrelation to the rails, which latter are thus held very firmly andsecurely in position. vThe lower .extremities o1" the holders 7 beingentered into the slots l2 are thereby prevented from twisting orturning, and the security of the fastening device is thereby materiallyincreased. The fastening members 13 when spread or expanded, as shown inFig. 3 of the drawing, serve to assemble the parts of the device withperfect security, and said Ifastening members, when desired, may bereadily compressed and removed, thus enabling the rails to bedisassembled from the tic.

At certain points along the line and especially where short curves areencountered there is a pronounced tendency for the outer rail to spreadin an outward direction 3 at such point l propose te reinforce my deviceby means ol' a. brace B which is shown in dct il in Fig. .5 of thedrawings and wnich is.

composed of a metallic plate bent to form a foot portion l5 having atits outer edge an opstanding ilange 16, said footpiece being provided atits inner edge with an obliquely disposed upwardly and inwardlyextending brace portion 17 having a terminal downturned flange 18,`which latter is iitted adjacent to the webct the rail, as will beclearly seen. in Fig. l of the drawing, the foot portion 15 being seatedin. a recess 19 in the upper side or face of the sleeve 2, Where it issecured by means of a fastening member, such a bolt 20, This brace',which is simple and easily ap' lied will elliciently resist any tendencyof tliie rail adjacent to which it is placed to expand in an ou tai/arddirection.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawing lercto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art tov which it appertains.

The construction is simple and inexpensive, and the improved rail tiewill be found extremely durable and edicient in operation,

conero Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new, is

1. A metallic railroad tie comprising a base plate having open-endedrail-supporting sleeves provided with grooves constituting rail seatsand slots adjacent the said grooves, in combination with rails litted inthe seats, holding members having heads engaging the rail flanges, andlaterally extending ugs engaging the undersides of the tops of thesleeves, and fastening means for securing the holders. i

2, A metallic railroad tie comprising a base -plate having railsupporting sleeves provider plate being provided with aperturesregistering with said slots, in combination with rails supported uponthe sleeves, holders having railengaging heads and sleeve-engaging lugs,said holders being provided with Shanksextending into the apertures inthe base plate, and fastening means for securing the holders inrail-engaging position.

3. A .metallicA railroad .tie comprising a base plate having railsupporting sleeves provided vwith slots in their upper sides, said baseplate being provided with corresponding apertures, in combination Withthe rails supported upon 'the sleeves, holders having rail engagingheads, sleeve-engaging lugs, sha-nhs extending into the apertures of thewith slots in their upper sides, the basel base plate, and split lieysorWedges driven f adjacent to the holders.

Il. ln a metallic railroad tie, a base plate having open-endedrail-supporting sleeves provided with slots in their upper sides, railssupported upon the sleeves, ho ders engaging the slots of the sleevesand havinrf rail-en.

gaging heads and sleeve-engaging .u s, and fastening members consistingof split eys or Wedges driven adjacent to the holders and accessiblethrough the open ends of the sleeves.

5. A metallic railroad tie comprising abase plate having open-endedrail-supporting sleeves provided with recesses or seats at their uppersides or faces, rails supported uponthe sleeves, brace memberscomprising foot nieces fitted in the seats of the sleeves.

L u and having inclmed brace members provided with terminal downturnedflanges engaging the rail webs.

ln testimony whereof l alix my signature

